In the Storm
by WynFyre
Summary: The Potters are saddled with the daughter of a long lost relative who is enrolled in Hogwarts. AU with OCs set in the Marauder Era. What will the addition of one character change? Rated T for future violence, and some language, and for flashbacks.
1. Changes

Changes

Gloved hands gripped the armrests of the middle seat of the middle row of the bolted together tin can that No-Maj called an airplane. The owner of the hands, a young teenager looking like an American Indian princess complete with what looked like an eagle feather braided into her hair, looked progressively more green as the plane lurched again. Her eyes were clamped shut as her stomach wouldn't stop trying to jump up her throat. She hated No-Maj flying. Brooms were so much better.

Her neighbor frowned, taking pity for the first time in the long flight. Reaching for the bag meant to contain the results of the greenness on her face, he offered it to her. "Come off it, Missy! Flying isn't so bad."

Her stormy blue eyes snapped open and she snatched the bag, looking up with a brief smile of thanks. As she closed her eyes again her mind couldn't help wandering back to the series of events that had led to her unfortunate fate.

"_Kasano." _

_The voice was soft. She opened her eyes to see her mentor sitting beside her bed. "Yes Grandmother?"_

"_They have decided. You will have to leave here." There was a shake to her voice betraying sadness._

_She hesitated. "I understand. Will they let me take my things?" Kasano wanted to bring everything she could, she would miss this place. Even if she'd always known she'd have to leave eventually._

_The old woman's face crinkled like partchment, almost making her black eyes disapear in her smile. "They will not look as long as you are packed. Our family has a gift for you once that is done."_

_Curious, and not wanting to let the woman or her family down, Kasano tucked all of her things quickly into her battered pack, sliding them in so that there was a little room to spare. There were benefits to not having many possessions. Once she had finished she looked back to the old woman. "What is it Grandmother? You have already given me so much, I do not need anything else."_

_The old woman's eyes twinkled as she offered a plain wooden box that she seemed to pull out of thin air. "Yet we still wish to give you one more."_

_Taking the offered box, Kasano opened it, and her blue eyes widened. "You had the wands made?" She touched the two polished pieces of wood, feeling them call out to her. Each felt right for one of her hands. Now she would not face the future unarmed. "Thank you." She wanted to say more but she couldn't find the words. Picking up the lighter colored wand in her left hand, she smiled at it, but her attention was quickly stolen as a shift in the box caught her eye. _

_She forgot to breathe. _

_Quickly she glanced up after identifying the feather along with the paint that had bonded with it, he r eyes a little misty. "Thank you. And can you thank her for me as well?" There wasn't time to run up to the nests so close to the sky. _

_The old woman's smile beamed. "Of course. Now, fit these on and finish arranging everything. They will be here soon. _

Kasano blinked. Enough memories. Though they did help pass time spent in the No-Maj deathtrap. She jumped as the intercom clicked on.

"Attention passengers, we are descending to Heathrow Airport. Please return your seats and tables to their positlions and fasten your seatbelts."

The disembodied voice clicked off. Silently she cursed. Descending meant more bumps. She didn't see how anyone, magical or not would think that something like this was safe. But then safety was reletive. Hopefully she wouldn't barf.

Several harrowing moments later, the plane bumped along the ground and the sounds of people hoping to get off the plane first filtered through the seats. Kasano wasn't one of them. She wanted to get her stomac back first. To that end she waited for the isles to become less crowded before standing, grabbing her beat up leather backpack, tossing it over her shoulder, and heading out.

When she'd chosen her clothing for the trip, she'd gone for comfort rather than style, and chose her usual boots, bellbottom jeans, and a brown pesant style top. Her many bracelets broke up the magical tattoos on her arms and the necklaces that matched the bracelets around her neck broke up the pieces that peeked over her shoulders. All in all, Kasano looked a lot like a California girl.

Hauling herself forward, she lifted her head and squared her shoulders. She refulsed to look weak when she walked off the flying tin can death trap. She'd be walking with the MACUSA agents, and they didn't take well to weakness. And her new guardians would be watching.

James Potter looked around the muggle airport for the fifth time. He didn't like how open the place was, what with the war with the Dark Lord and all.

His mother put a hand on his shoulder. "Just a little longer. Remember, this is a favorfrom your father to the branch of the Potters that immagrated years ago." She gave him a pat to the shoulder she had her hand on.

James raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Sorry Mum." He didn't look so sorry with the mischief sparkling in his eyes.

Lord Potter smiled and shook his head. "James." His voice held a warning and sure enough, James stayed silent for a short period of time before he started pacing again.

Kasano stepped off of the gate and into the airport, with the two MACUSA agents who had flown along with her as an escort. She glanced to either side, eyes unreadable as the three of them headed toward where a family stood. None of them looked even slightly familiar, not that she had expected them to. They stopped in front of the family and the more burly wizard clamped his hand down on her shoulder to insure she didn't run.

"Mister Potter, I presume?" The voice of the burly one was gravely, adding to his gruff exterior as he dressed the head of the small family.

"Yes, I am Lord Potter. Is this the girl your supirors owled me about?" The man stood fast, ignoring his wife and son for the moment as his gaxe flicked to Kasano who was standing like a prisoner between the two Americans.

"Yes sir." The words were clipped, sharp.

Lord Potter, Charlus to his friends and family, nodded once. So this was the girl of the forgotten branch of his family, the branch that had been so recently and tragically wiped out. "Thank you. We can take things from here."

Kasano's gaze flickered upward briefly before focusing down again. She didn't want to stay but as the death grip left her arm she couldn't help relaxing slightly. At least the agent who's mother was probably a sasquatch wouldn't think he could manhandle her anymore. Her attention snapped to the boy, about her age, as he moved and reached to take her bag. Kasano tightened her grip on the straps. "Thanks, but I got it." She didn't want to give them a chance to take her wands. Or the books. Or really any of the trinkets she had.

"Come Miss Potts, it's time we headed home." Charlus smiled, motioning for his son and the girl to join them, and when they did the slightly larger family headed to floo home.


	2. New Home

New Home

Kasano closed the door behind herself with a heavy sigh. Potter Manor was huge. She was fairly sure that even with the tour she'd just endured, she wouldn't remember where all the hallways led to. The important ones, yes. Those would be easy after her childhood expiriences. But the others? Not so much.

Adjusting to being in a house, and one as large as this to boot however would be hard. She was use to the open sky, and a breeze through the windows that smelled of pine and freedom. Sighing again, she pushed herself off the door and headed to the bed. Just as she was about to sit down on the blue flowery duvet a soft knock sounded from the door. For a moment she thought about sending a stinging hex through the door, but as she felt her wand in her hand she changed her mind. This was different from the home she'd had, maybe the people were different too. Kasano took a breath. "Yes?" She glanced to her bag and reached for it, remembering as she did so that she wasn't where she grew up. "Come in if you'd like."

The head that poked around the door was the boy's. Hair sticking out at all angles, and glasses on his face, he smiled. She was pretty sure that his name was James. "Hey Cassie. I know Mum said that you need some time to settle in, but next week we go to Hogwarts, and I figured you might have questions." He closed the door behind him, and moved out of her path to it choosing to settle in one of the fluffy chairs along the wall of the room.

She considered him for a moment. "Actually yeah. I've never been to an actual magical school before." She reached for the letter that she'd gotten. It had the Hogwarts shield on it, and as she looked at it she felt the nervousness that had been hovering around her tighten inside her chest. "I guess that's why I have to do the proficency tests, right?" She glanced up to James to confirm her thoughts.

He nodded. "The professors will want to be sure you can keep up with the course work." His voice sounded lazy but his eyes were bright.

"Maybe. Can you give me an idea of what is expected?" She settled cross legged on the bed with her battered leather bag beside her. "Oh, and it's Kasano, not Cassie. My name changed a long time ago, and no one recognized it."

His eyes narrowed slightly and she had the unsettling feeling that her words had been filed away somewhere to be thought about later. "Alright Kasano, well it's just the basics of Potions, grade one and two Charms and Transfig," he tossed a couple of books onto her bed that he took out of nowhere, "Defense and history are the same, but I think the history you've got is different than ours. At least I think it is."

She nodded and picked up the Charms book, thumbing through the pages. Her eyebrow arched more and more the gurther she got, completely unaware of the silence.

"Is something wrong?" James almost looked concerned.

Kasano bit her lip. "Um how to put this." She paused and glanced at her bag before digging around inside and dragging out a composition notebook that looked like it was held together with tape and glue. "I don't think my problem will be lack of skill." She flipped through the pages till she found what she was looking for and offered it ot him. A huge show of trust, but he was being helpful. Possibly even kind. She was willing to risk it.

James took the notebook and was grinning as he scanned the page. "You definitely have Potter blood somewhere in you, Kasano. This is bloody brilliant!"

"It's even better in practice as long as you don't get yourself caught in it." She snickered, remembering her near miss of one of the bouncing bubbles before she sobered. "So I think my problem would be not standing out too much."

Despite obviously wanting to look through the rest of the pages, James offered her the notebook in return. "Well that's easy, just do close to your best on all the tests and don't worry too much. A lot of the purebloods have tutors over the summers and know stuff before it's taught at Hogwarts. You were taught at home for two years, you're bound to be ahead by most people's logic." He paused, glancing back at her notebook. "I really hope you're sorted into Griffyndor."

She frowned. "Sorted? What's Griffyndor?"

"You don't know about Griffyndor? Sorting is how everyone at Hogwarts is divided into the different houses, or dorms. Griffyndor is the best with courage, bravery, and chivilary. It's where I am and if you like pranking, it's the place to be. Then there's Ravenclaw with the brainy ones, Hufflepuff with hard work and loyalty, and lastly the house with the most gits, Slytherin. The whole bloody lot is generally cunning and resourceful, but they're also cruel. Most the students in that house have already pledged support for the Dark Lord. It's not somewhere you want to be even if it fits you." He had caution in his eyes.

"Don't worry, if that's the criteria, then I won't fit. Sure, I'm clever and resourceful but brave and stubborn to the point of near insanity." She snickered. There was a lot that James and his family didn't know about her history. And she wasn't interested in sharing if she didn't have to, which was why she counted herself lucky he hadn't decided to comment on it. Still she was curious and decided to get herself more information about the place she would call home diruing school since James was in the sharing mood at the moment.


	3. Meeting the Marauders

_Author's note~_

_Thank you to all who have started reading this story! It is one that has been rattling around in my head for quite a while now. Many thanks to J.K. Rowling for letting us play in her sandbox, none of this is mine, nor do I claim it aside from Kasano. If you feel so inclined, reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. This story is something that I write and share for my own enjoyment, and I hope that possibly it could entertain others as well. _

_End Author's note~_

A few days went by, and one morning a much more confident Kasano walked out of the Ministry with her sort of brother and his mother. She'd passed what she had needed to, and they were headed to collect school supplies for both her and James before the start of the year. James, with his ever-untamable hair led the way grinning and waving at three boys his age when they got close.

"Siri! Rem! Pete! How was your summer?" With that he all but bolted to join them, skidding to a stop so he could turn back and grab Kasano's wrist, and drag her with him.

Unable to hide her amusement at her sort of brother's actions she didn't fight his lead. She had learned that James was easily overly excited, and while it was annoying, it also usually ended up entertaining.

The taller, finer featured boy grinned and raised an eyebrow at James. "You give up on Evans?"

James frowned and then dropped Kasano's wrist. "No! No, Sirius, this is my," he paused and frowned and looked at her for help.

She sighed after waiting long enough to almost make him squirm. "Kasano Coyota, transplant from the Americas, last of that branch of the Potter family. So, I think that makes me and James cousins?" She looked to James and got a nod of approval as to how she'd defined how they were related.

Sirius took the offered hand and shook it. "Well then, I'm Sirius, that's Remus, and that's Peter."

The other boys waved, grinning.

Kasano's gaze flicked between the three, noting what she could. "Nice to meet you. I think we will probably be sharing some classes since I'm transferring to Hogwarts." She managed a grin before ducking her head. As James dragged his friends forward, she stayed in the middle of the group, quiet but watching them.

Peter ended up beside her as they made their way to the first store. "I hope you don't mind the greeting. James has been owling all of us since he found out about you. His excitement is contagious."

She glanced at the soft faced boy with a smile. "Hey, I've been stuck in the house with him, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. It really is nice to meet you guys, honest."

Peter returned the smile. "Good. I'm glad you're not angry with us."

Kasano reached to nudge Peter. He looked like he could use the encouragement what with the two of them being somewhat left behind by the exuberant other three members of their party. "So, what's Hogwarts like? I know James' stories, but I'm not sure how much stock I should put in them."

Peter laughed. "Magic is fascinating, but James can get far too overexcited about things. I'm assuming he told you about the four houses?" After getting an affirmative nod, he continued. "We all are in Gryffindor, so I don't know too much about the other houses. I'd guess it's like any muggle boarding school except with magic. James and Sirius, and even Remus are good, brilliant even, so the schoolwork is easy for them. If you need help, ask. They're great teachers too."

She nodded. "That's good to know. Honestly, I'm nervous, I can't help but worry that once I get there, everything I've learned will end up not being right." She ducked her head.

He hesitated before he nudged her in return. "You already got four friends, Kasano. We won't let you be left out or left behind."

She grinned at him. "Thanks Peter. So, what all do we have to get for school?"

Matching the grin with a smile, he answered, pointing to the various shops as he did. "Well books and robes for starters. I think James wants to go by Quality Quidditch Supplies after we get our books." He trailed off, curious as Mrs. Potter stopped the group in front of Ollivander's.

The woman looked over the group till she found Kasano who was trying to hide behind Sirius and James while they were in deep conversation, but ultimately it wasn't the greatest hiding spot. Reluctantly Kasano moved to follow Mrs. Potter inside, a little embarrassed when everyone followed them, a little like sheep, quieting as they entered the wand shop.

An old man with bright hungry eyes appeared from the back of the shop. "Ah, Lady Potter, I trust your wand is still serving you well?" There was a little annoyance in his tone.

Mrs. Potter smiled. "Yes, though I have brought our recently added young ward to see if you could find one for her." She glanced to Kasano and motioned her forward.

The young woman in question swallowed and stepped forward. "I'm sorry Sir, I was given wands before I came to England." She took both out of her pockets and offered them to the aged wandmaker.

Ollivander took them, turning tone then the other over in his hands. "Young lady never have I seen wands such as these, already so loyal to their wielder. I believe I will be able to assist you in finding something you do not need. Though I appreciate the opportunity to see such craftsmanship. Tell me, where did you purchase these?

Kasano swallowed again as she took the two wands back and tucked them away. "The cores of both were given to me by the creatures they came from and the wood from a transplanted wandmaker on the reservation I had been staying at before I came here." She frowned a moment, thinking. "I can ask her if she would like to have contact with another wandmaker if you would like me to." It wouldn't do any harm.

Ollivander smiled and nodded his head. "You must find wand holsters for both of your wands, Miss Coyota. Even though I am not familiar with their cores, I can tell they will both serve you well."

She nodded and glanced to Mrs. Potter who had a look of curiosity on her face. James, standing beside her, looked both impatient and curious.

She sighed. "I was given a few tail and wing feathers by a reaptorix, and they are inside this one," she held up the lighter colored beech wand, "and I was visited by a runewolf who allowed me to cut some of his mane, which is inside this one." She held up the ebony wand. "I haven't gotten much chance to use them though. She could hear the regret in her voice.

James was looking between the wands and grinned. "Well, I guess we will just have to wait before we experiment."

As they headed back out to the street James and Sirius shared a frown and slowed their pace to come on either side of Kasano, flanked by Peter and Remus. It was James, predictably, who spoke. "Hey, if you havent' had much of a chance to use your wands, then how'd you do magic before you came here?"

Kasano glanced from one side to the other, looking at all four boys. Seeing their confusion, and the fact she wouldn't get away with not answering, she sighed. "I used wandless magic, or magic directed through runes or gestures. It's one of the reasons I'm worried about classes. What if I accidentally use the wrong spell and do it in the wrong way? I'm worried about messing up enough that they ask me to leave."

Mrs. Potter pulled Kasano into a hug before she had even finished speaking. "You'll do fine, love. Now, let's go get everything on the supply lists, and if we have time perhaps, we can head to Forscues afterward." Her voice was kind but firm as she started herding the group toward Florish and Botts to get their new books.


	4. Little Shadow

_~Author's note: So sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. Between my cat stealing my notebook with my fanfiction written in it, school ending and finding summer work, I lost track of time. But No More! Hopefully I'll be posting every week, if not a little more frequently. I hope you enjoy this, I surely enjoyed writing it. As always, I only own Kasano and her little friend, the rest belong to Rowling. Many thanks to the wonderful woman for allowing us to play in her sandbox._

_Also, if anyone has comments about what house they think Kasano should end up in, I'm all ears!_

_~End Author's Note~_

School shopping done, the rowdy group headed back toward the tantalizing promise of ice cream till peter realized that Kasano was missing. The girl had stopped in front of the Magical Menagerie and was staring through the window at the creatures inside. He elbowed James and pointed, which resulted in the whole group being rerouted.

"Kasano, what did you find?" James had bounced the remainder of the way to join her.

"It's nothing, sorry for holding everyone up." She tried to move but her gaze was refusing to be torn away from the basket full of kittens.

James followed her gaze and in a flash decision, he grabbed her wrist again, dragging her into the pet store. "You should get a pet to bring to Hogwarts. It's your first year and you should celebrate!" As the others trickled in, Kasano smiled slightly and headed over to the kittens. Maybe that would appease James so that the fact she sorely wanted to take him up on the offer of a pet. Ignoring the murmuring conversation behind her, she reached out to let the little ones sniff her hand.

As she did, a yowl sounded louder than the rest from a barred cage nearby. That very much caught her attention, and she turned to look. The size of the creature was tiny, smaller than the kittens in the basket, and it looked feline in shape aside from three things. It had wings, its tail had feathers on it, and that tail was prehensile, acting like a fifth leg, or even a hand. She looked back, locating the shopkeeper who was talking to Mrs. Potter while they both kept an eye on the boys. "Excuse me, but could you tell me what kind of animal this is?" She motioned to the cage.

The woman shrugged. "It came in with the kittens, but the man who brought them in didn't know. You can open the cage if you want, she's friendly."

Needing no further invitation, Kasano did. Out clambered a small kitten with jet black fur, blue eyes and iridescent black wings. The tail feathers matched the wings and while everyone watched in shock, the little winged kitten launched itself into her arms. Reflexively she caught and held the black bundle of fur.

"She's got griffin blood in her or something. Looks like she likes you. The woman smiled at the scene.

Kasano nodded as she could feel the too long tail wrap around her wrist. Looking into the odd kitten's eyes, she knew she wanted to take the furball home, but there was no way she could ask for a pet. These people had just given her a home, after all.

"Mum?" James broke the settled silence.

"Yes James, we can. Kasano will have to send a letter asking for approval to bring a pet not on the usual list." Mrs. Potter had known what her son was going to ask and had decided on her answer when she had seen the look on the young black-haired girl's face before they had even entered the shop.

Kasano looked between her cousin and his mother. "Thank you." There was a lot of weight to her words. She'd never had a pet, never expected to have one either. Especially from the people she barely knew, but both James and his mother looked genuinely happy with the idea and over her short stay with them she'd learned they didn't say or do anything without reason. Reflexively she held the kitten creature closer. _Mine_. "I'm going to call you Shadow."

As Sirius and Remus gathered different supplies such as food and a transport cage, Peter was looking at collars with illusion charms attached so that the wings and feathers wouldn't be seen by Muggles.

Once they had purchased everything the creature would need, they went back toward their respective homes, with Sirius hanging back as his adults hadn't come to collect him yet. Mrs. Potter headed off to do her own shopping after admonishing the boys to behave and telling Kasano that she was well within her rights to wallop either or both boys should the occasion arise.

When Kasano turned back to the boys she took one look at the two of them and shook her head. "No wonder your mother basically put me in charge. Come on, let's go look at quidditch supplies." That at least sounded safe. Unsurprisingly both boys were happy with the idea.

On the Hogwarts platform, the forced pleasantry between both the adults and the students could be cut with a knife, but none of that tension could tarnish the sight of the train, smoke and steam billowing upward like a cloud and obscuring the cherry red color of the engine from time to time.

Kasano paused, looking around at the people and colors surrounding them and swiftly decided to take a quick sidestep toward James. "There are sure a lot of people here."

James glanced up from the two third years he had been cautiously monitoring and smiled understandingly. "It's a little overwhelming with all of the families and the Aurors around. Oh look! There's Pete and Rem! The four of us should go and find a compartment that we can share once Siri is here and the Marauders are complete."

She could see the anticipation in her cousin when it came to seeing his friends again, and it set her a little at ease. "James, thanks." Kasano glanced down and away. "I don't think I would have friends if it weren't for what you've done."

He looked over at her genuinely puzzled. "Of course you'd have friends. There's no reason for you not to."

She opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Pete and Rem's arrival. It wasn't long before they were headed off to a compartment all to themselves.

Carrying her basket for her miniature griffin along with her shrunken trunk in her pocket, Kasano stuck near Peter. He was the las tone of the four, and the least visibly excited. As they boarded the train and started through to find an open compartment, they passed several other groups of excited chattering students.

One, a green-eyed redhead girl their age frowned and stared as they passed, eyes mostly on Kasano.

Glancing up, she met the girl's eyes with her own, inwardly laughing as the other girl started and turned away embarrassed. Soon after that she settled into her corner of their compartment, content to listen to the banter being tossed around. She was squished in beside Sirius, and across from Pete.

After the other three started discussing the plans for their first prank she got Pete's attention. "Hey, it's great to see you again. I was um hoping that maybe you'd be okay with me asking you some stuff about Hogwarts." She glanced down and shifted in her seat. "The closer we get, the more nervous I am."

Peter smiled and his eyes lit up. "Sure! What do you want to know?"

Kasano smiled thankfully. "Awesome. So, what are the teachers like? I'm still trying to figure out what extra classes to take."

Taking a breath, he started in. "Well, for some of the teachers your house matters a lot, but I don't think last year's DADA professor is coming back. It's like the position is cursed or something. Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, and she's kind but really strict. Siri and James don't really care and pull pranks in her class all the time, but it's not really a good idea. She's also the head of Gryffindor House, which means she's in charge of all of us. Slughorn is Slytherin's and tends to kind of play favorites in his potions class. He's got a knack for sniffing out people who are going to matter and collecting them in his little club." He was going to contenue, but the woman with the treat trolley arrived and all conversation was put on hold with Hogwarts looming ever closer.


	5. Sorting a Third Year

_Author's note~ _

_I decided to go with my original plan as to what house Kasano ended up in. I hope you all are enjoying this story that I started for my own entertainment! Summer is being kind to me, so I have had more time to write and draw, which has been wonderful. Thank you for your patience with me, and as always, enjoy!_

_End author's note~_

When Kasano stumbled off the train, she was thrust not so willingly into the happy chaos that was the arrival to Hogwarts. As she stood off to one side, eyes wide and looking slightly pale, Sirius found her and reached for her free hand. At the touch she instinctively closed her fingers around his hand lightly and turned toward her anchor amid the rolling sea of students. "There's...it's a lot."

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, it can be kind of daunting. Come on, I'll show you where the boats are. You'll ride up with Firsties, but it'll be worth it when you see the castle for the first time." He expertly led the way through the mess of excited students over to where a figure stood towering over the rest.

"Firs' years, firs' years ter foller me an' the Professer. Firs' -'ow ye bin Sirius?" The giant man positively beamed as he caught sight of the approaching pair.

"Never better, Hagrid, never better. This is Kasano, she's transferring to Hogwarts and I figured she would be going up with you this time."

Kasano didn't hear the reply. Never in the time since she had come to Britain had she more wished to be able to just go home. But now home seemed to be the Potter Manor. She didn't know what to think about that.

Sirius broke off the conversation that he was having with Hagrid to glance at his friend. Squeezing her hand one more time, he grinned at her. "Alright Kas, I got to go meet up with Jamie and the others. We'll save a seat for you though."

Blinking at the nickname she managed a smile and nodded. "I sure hope I'm in Gryffindor. See you at the feast Siri." Releasing his hand, she took a breath and moved forward to join a couple of first years in a boat.

Sirius stopped long enough to make sure she didn't dump the boat, then hurried to join the rest of the Marauders. They had the finishing touches to put on their third annual beginning of school prank before they got to the great hall.

Kasano sat as soon as she could, not liking the rocking sensation of the boat. It brought back bad memories. Once she was sitting however, the sensation and the memories that had come with it were gone, and she looked up into the curious gazes of the others in the boat.

The young boy with light brown eyes looked her over a couple of times. "You're not a first year, are you?" His tone was reluctant, but genuine and without malice.

"I'm a third year, but I've never been to Hogwarts. I went to a different school first and just moved here before school started." She tried out one of her smiles at him and was pleasantly surprised when he returned it. "I'm Kasano Coyota." She extended her hand to the boy and he took it.

"Steel Appletree. What house do you think you'll be sorted into?" He was trying to make his voice sound grown up.

Shrugging one shoulder, Kasano sighed. "I don't know. I really want to be in Gryffindor, that's where my cousin is, but from what I know I could probably fit there, or Ravenclaw, or Slytherin."

A collective gasp rang out through the boat and everyone seemed to edge a little further away from the older girl. But before anyone could say anything, the boats rounded a turn and the castle of Hogwarts and all its mystery stood out against the night sky with candles in the windows. With all eyes turned upward toward the sight, Kasano reached down to check on Shadow. The little griffin type creature was curled neatly into a ball in the small basket, awake but unmoving. She was interested in her surroundings in a calculating way and only reached out a paw to touch Kasano's hand briefly before going back to surveying her new surroundings. Clearly, she wasn't worried about what house Kasano would be in.

Hagrid left the group of nervous children on the steps, and whispers started again. Ignoring them, Kasano settled into the spot she'd picked close to the back, watching everything instead. Shadow's eyes opened again once they stopped at the steps, and she measured the sight before her again, turning to scale her mistress's sleeve and find a vantage point on her shoulder. Just before one of the teachers came into view, the black creature ducked and hid in the hood that was a part of Kasano's robes.

From the boys' descriptions, this could only be Professor McGonagall, their head of house. This was further confirmed with the clipped lilt that she had to her voice as she spoke. Most of what she said sounded like some sort of welcome speech geared for the first years, but she seemed to be looking for something, and when she found Kasano, met her eyes for the remainder of what she said. When she was finished, they headed inside to a large double door that seemed to go upward forever.

The anticipation and nervousness in the group of children was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Then as the doors opened, they all headed out into the Great Hall. Kasano glanced around for the table with the gold and red, quickly seeing the two smiling faces of her cousin and his best friend. James looked excited, eyes scanning till they met her's. That made her smile. Sirius hadn't had to scan the group of Firsties in order to find her, and he returned the smile she had involuntarily. The other two she couldn't see, but she was certain that they were somewhere nearby. Those four never ranged far from eachother.

Her attention was snapped back to the front of the great hall as the ratty pointed hat sitting on a stool began to sing. There was some history of the school in the song coming out of what Kasano could only assume was the mouth, along with a little information on the different houses. And ridiculous rhymes. She almost shook her head at a few.

When the song was done, the professor who had led the group into the Great Hall turned with a large piece of paper. "When your name is read, you will please walk up and place the Sorting Hat on your head and be sorted into your houses where you will dwell for your years with us. Now, Steel Appletree?"

The boy walked up, obviously nervous, and after a moment with the hat on his head, it cried RAVENCLAW! Grinning, he took it off and skipped down the stairs to join the black and yellow of his house. Kasano noticed that his tie turned to the colors of the house he'd been sorted into, and when the next child became a Gryffindor her suspicions were confirmed. The ties they wore would change to fit with where they would be staying. She touched her own, and desperately hoped that it would turn the red and gold of her cousin's house. The majority of the first years were sorted quickly, with only two hatstalls - an Elwin McAbe who was eventually placed into Slytherin, and a Hildred Manning who happily bounced off to join the Hufflepuff table with the hat still on her head. Her table pointed this out to her, and she ran back, red-faced, to return it to Professor McGonagall.

That only left one student still standing uncomfortably in the isle in the middle of the Great Hall.

Sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time, Kasano tried to not acknowledge the stares that were boring into her and the whispered conversations that she could hear. Honestly, she wasn't scared about the sorting anymore, she just wanted it over so she could just go sit down wherever she ended up and be out of the center of attention.

"Kasano Coyota."

From Gryffindor she could hear James whoop loudly at her name. Schooling the smile off her face, she walked forward, sat down and allowed the hat to be placed on her head.

_Interesting, very interesting._ She could hear the many thoughts not said through those words and wondered just how intelligent this hat was.

_Oh, young druid, there is no limit to how smart I just might be. But enough questions about me, this is about you. Magic is strong in you, young one, as is a desire to prove yourself. You could do well in Slytherin, you've learned many of their skills already, and you have no compunction about using the darker arts._

Kasano blinked once, wondering if she got a say in where she went, or if the hat just decided on its own.

_Smart one you are, yes you do, it's all in your head! You would do well in Slytherin, and you acknowledge that, but you also have a burning desire to remain with the only family you have here. I have to say, your bravery and sense of honor makes this choice easy once I saw it. You're going to be in -_

"GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted for everyone to hear, and she ducked her head, returning the hat and hurrying to go and join her cousin and his friends at the table, infinitely glad that she was there instead of the green and silver table across the way. Glancing over her shoulder, she stole a look at them, meeting the eyes of a thinner boy her age with stringy greasy hair. He glared and she turned her attention back to her friends and the feast that had just appeared in front of them.

"James, this is way more food than you described when you told me about Hogwarts!" She was just staring at everything, trying to make up her mind as to what to try first.

The redheaded girl that she had seen laughed at that, smiling across the table. "You don't seem all bad, Potter must not have corrupted you yet. I'm Lily Evans." She extended a hand in greeting.

Kasano looked up from the table and shook the hand with a smile. "Corrupted? Nah, haven't known my cousin long enough for that. Nice to meet you, Evans, I'm Kasano Coyota."

Lilly shook her head, smiling. "Well Coyota, I think you're going to be my new roommate, so it seems that we'll get along."

Nodding, Kasano turned back to the food, deciding what she would start with. Being at Hogwarts was turning out to not only be interesting but a good thing as well. Maybe James was right. Maybe she could make friends there.


	6. Befriending the Flower

The rest of the evening would have gone well, but Kasano was constantly glancing to the four Marauders, her eyes continuing to narrow as time went on. They were obviously up to something, and just as dessert popped onto tables, a smattering of color exploded seemingly from nowhere, swapping out all of the colors for the houses randomly, and painting in an arch above the teacher table in exploding fireworks that read 'Welcome Back!'

Kasano just sighed, having jumped a little when everything almost literally exploded. James and Sirius had done decently well, but she was already considering ways to out-Marauder them in the next week or two. A soft meow sounded from her hood and she remembered Shadow who had curled up behind her neck sometime during the feast. It seemed that the little one agreed with her plans to retaliate against the four lovable idiots she was slowly starting to consider possibly allowing to become family.

Evans across the table groaned. "You bloody idiots! You've ruined my uniform!"

Kasano was snapped out of her thoughts enough to look across and see what the other girl was talking about and smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you, but that spell will fade in a day or two, it's not a permanent one so you won't get reparations from my idiot cousin."

Evans turned her furious green glare onto Kasano. "You were involved with this madness?"

Kasano laughed. "If I was, I wouldn't have let them use the combination of spells that they must have used. No, I wasn't, but I sure am going to be involved with a retaliation, even if I'm the only one who does so."

That got the attention of Sirius and he turned to face her, swallowing whatever treat he had stuffed into his mouth. "You think you can take on the Marauders?"

Turning, Kasano gave a slow smile. "Oh no, I wouldn't dream of challenging you guys to a contest, I don't think the school could survive that. Think of it more as a pointed audition."

Sirius actually froze for a moment, meeting her eyes that were slowly turning feral as her smile widened. The sight was enough to sober him, and he glanced down and away quickly. He couldn't help but wonder if they'd made a mistake. "Oh, okay. I guess that would work." When he looked up with a forced smile and his eyes met hers, he couldn't help but smile.

Kasano let her gaze soften. She hadn't meant to go into the scary realm of things. "Good. I'd hate to work hard on a prank, and have it gone unnoticed."

Sirius grinned and gave her shoulder a couple of pats before looking back to his three friends and resumed the conversation they'd been having.

Kasano looked back to Evans with a smile and shrugged.

"You're going to prank the Marauders? I can't wait to see this." Evans smiled, barely able to cover a laugh.

"Just wait and see. I'm planning to both work with them sometimes, and against them in others. Sort of like a free agent. At my last school we were encouraged to find unique uses for spells and potions, as long as it would not harm anyone too badly." Kasano's grin widened again. "James said that was a reason that I was still a Potter, even though I'd never known about the heart of the family before now."

Evans just shook her head. "Sharing a room with you is going to be interesting to say the least."

Further conversation was ended by the welcome feast being over with, and all the students chattering echoed off the walls of the castle.

Once up in the dorms, Kasano went straight to her spot between Evans' bunk and the wall and opened her trunk. Dinner had been a little strange, but good, and she knew that tomorrow she would have to wake up early if she wanted to make it to classes on time. Shadow mewed from her hood, climbing her way out and down her arm to pounce the ruffles on the pillows on the bed.

"That's not a cat!" Mary's voice held tension in it as she held her wand on the black winged furball on the newly added bed.

Kasano grinned tiredly. "No, she's not. The pet store wasn't sure what she was, but she's very sweet. The Headmaster said I could bring her because she's got the potential to be my familiar."

Mary, Lily, and the other girls in the dorm eyed the creature carefully before looking back at the strange newcomer. Kasano hadn't expected much different.

"She's not going to bite, she's just a little thing after all, and hasn't gone more than three feet from me since we met. Shadow's friendly, or we wouldn't be here." She'd been adamant about that. If she was to be separated from her new little friend, Kasano would have refused to go to Hogwarts, opting for home schooling instead. And she knew that had something to do with why she was able to keep the strange little creature with her.

Lilly was the first to cross closer, and offer her hand to the little kitten, and said hand was promptly smothered with cuddles. Giggling, she let Shadow explore her other hand as well, giggles turning to laughter as the kitten started purring far too loudly for its little body. "Girls, I think Shadow's fine. After all, she looks like she's more apt to snuggle us to death than anything else."

One at a time the other girls came over and were promptly cooing over the little black furball with wings, and none of them wanted to settle down for their first night in the dorm, but they did. Classes were going to begin in the morning.


	7. Underhanded Snakes

A few days later after the most diverse breakfast Kasano had seen in years, the young woman was wandering the halls. She'd lost her cousin and his friends, and all the Gryffindor girls from her year, and ended up in a hall with very unhelpful pictures who would rather insult her than try to direct her in the right direction. Sighing, she reached up to where Shadow was and patted the kitten before pulling out her map to see where she was.

"Look what we have here." The voice was older, and when she glanced up, she could see several students with green and silver adorning their uniforms. Slytherins. Great.

"Congratulations, you found a lost Gryff. Are you going to stand there and sneer at me?" Kasano's tone was flat. She'd heard about the house rivalries, and the rumored viciousness of the Slytherins, and so far, she wasn't impressed.

They looked at eachother, and the teen with the long blonde hair gave a predatory smile before reaching for his wand. "Oh no, we're going to teach you what happens to little cubs who refuse to bow to their betters."

She slowly raised an eyebrow. "And pray tell, who the hell would that be? Not you, for sure, or you wouldn't need to have so many of your little cronies at your back, ready to strike when you fall." Boys didn't scare her. Not after what she had seen in the dark. Not after the pure terror she'd known.

"Diffindo!" Somehow the blonde git had his wand in his hand and had cast before she noticed.

"Protego!" Kasano whipped out her wand, but her shielding spell was a little too late. Some of the cutting curse made its way around, hitting her in the shoulder and she hissed through her teeth, glaring daggers at her assailants. Her magic was starting to sing, it wanted to fight, destroy those who had hurt her. But she clamped down on it. Ending the shield with a thought, she transferred her wand to her other hand and clamped her free one onto the wound. Then she noticed the others were trying to circle her in, so she would have no escape.

"You're that blood traitor Potter's little project, what better way to torment him and his little group than to play with their little pet?" He smiled and raised his wand again.

Kasano smiled as well. Raising a wand to her was a bad idea, especially with how close the blonde haired git was standing. She waited till his stance was firm and then she struck. Stepping forward three paces, she used the gained momentum and transferred it all to one thing. A kick aimed perfectly to the one place that was sure to drop the self-important arrogant snake to the stone floor writhing in pain and squeaking like a female mouse.

Then she bolted, not caring where she was headed. Anywhere would be safer once that bloody idiot recovered.

"Bloody idiot. Hey Shadow, I think I'm starting to become more Brit." Kasano knew her voice was showing her pain, but she didn't really care. Years of practice had her watching the sides of the hall as she trotted down it and gave her the energy to smile as she noticed an anomaly in the wall that could only mean one thing. Carefully she walked past it, and then slid through the hidden doorway. Someone had put a lot of work into the optical illusion that partially hid the entrance. Whatever was inside, it was better than facing a whole tribe of irate snakes avenging their fallen leader.

Three steps into the alcove and she knew she'd made the right choice.

"Hey James, I think we're going to need some more monkroot. The potion's still not right." That was Remus's voice, and there was a smile to it that pulled a smile onto Kasano's face even with the pain in her shoulder and the blood seeping through her fingers. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. Then she heard his voice again. "Um guys? I think we have a visitor."

Then there were footsteps. She recognized James, and figured the others belonged to the rest of the Marauders.

"Kas?! What the bloody hell happened to you!" James moved toward her, stopping as he got close and reached for her good shoulder, his eyes flashing darkly. "Come on, let's get you in here properly."

Sirius' eyes mirrored James' and he moved to her other side, gently removing the wand as they ushered her to a seat on top of a barrel. "Hold still, Kas. We'll help."

She followed orders, not moving except to breathe. "I think I know why I didn't want to be in Slytherin now. They're all bastards, though their blonde haired leader is going to be singing soprano for a while." A small grin passed over her face as she relaxed to let them heal the cut.

James had moved the fabric aside as much as he could, and Sirius healed the wound, frowning as something that looked like ink flowed across the newly mended skin that he could see.

"Hey Kas? I thought magical tattoos were illegal for wizarding minors." Sirius' voice was soft and careful as he mended her uniform and cloak.

Kasano frowned, ignoring the nickname. "I dont' have…" she paused, realizing what they must have seen and nodding, "Oh right, that. Nah, they aren't tattoos. When you go on a Spirit Quest like I did before I was found by the Orphan Office, if you're touched by a spirit, you bear the mark it gives you. I have a thunderbird across my back, and part of the wing is most likely what you saw. She likes to spread her feathers when I'm not hurt."

James looked at her, uncomprehending. "Spirit Quest?"

She sighed and looked over at him, grinning shyly. "Yeah. You drink this nasty potion created by a shaman, and then you head into the wilderness. I found a spot on the edge of a cliff and started my meditation, and it wasn't long before the door to the spirit realm opened and my mind was free to roam. Thunderbird found me, and claimed me as his own, ceding the actual claim to the thunderbird I knew as a friend. Then I met Coyote. You would like him, he's the Trickster. I met Wolf as well." She shook her head, still grinning. "I'm the first in five generations to be touched by three of the spirits. It's beyond rare, and the fact that all three marked me is unheard of."

Sirius whistled. "That sounds like some seriously powerful magic you were dealing with. Are spirits like family magic?" James and Remus nodded, both obviously still trying to wrap their minds around the idea of a spirit quest.

Now it was Kasano's turn to be confused, and she looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "What's family magic?"

James took this one, shaking off his own problems comprehending what was going on. "Magic attached to the Ancient and Most Noble Houses. The Potter family magic totem is a griffin, and the Black family magic is a snake. They give the Head of the family a boost in their magic and are called when making oaths, marriages and other bindings."

Eyes clearing in understanding, she nodded. "No, they're not like that, in that the spirits are not tied to a family. They choose who can tap into their magic, and how much magic they will give. The image on the person's skin determines how much magic the individual can pull from them, and most people only have a small glyph on their wrist or a band around their arm." She pulled up a sleeve, pushing away her ever-present bracelets. "I um kind of have more than that." The image of a laughing Coyote was curled on the inside of her arm, looking up and tipping his ears forward as the three boys crowded around to see what was there.

Remus paled a little, seeing the image move on its own and shook his head. "That's slightly disturbing. Does it always move?"

She nodded. "Unless he's asleep or somewhere else. He likes me though, especially when I play pranks. The thunderbird on my back is always moving, she's always with me, and Wolf comes and goes, but if I'm in trouble, he's there." He was also always there when she woke up from nightmares and was the only one who would make his eyes glow so she could fall back to sleep with the small comforting light.

Sirius shook his head, staring at the still moving figure. "So why didn't you use it to help heal what those nasty snakes did?"

Kasano shrugged. "I usually use my own magic for healing, and don't bother them for that. And I was kind of on the run, not exactly wanting to get cornered again after what I did to the head snake idiot."

Three pairs of eyes immediately fastened on her with alarming intensity. It didn't take much to know what they wanted to ask.

"No, I didn't curse him, I kicked him as hard as I could in um a rather vulnerable and painful location that made him squeak like a mouse and his face go white as a sheet." The predatory feral grin that crossed her face and the dark light in her eyes spoke to the fact she could have done more. Much more.

Silence reigned till James laughed and shook his head. "Remind me to never be on your bad side, cousin. So, would you like to see what we're working on?"

Remus grinned and motioned her deeper into the alcove. "We're working on a prank for the snakes and we're just about done."

Sirius brushed her good shoulder with one of his before flashing her a smile. "Care to add some of that flare that James says you had back in the states to our little project?"

Kasano smiled and nodded. "So, what do you guys have so far?"


End file.
